Hot topics in November

Honestly, dear Berliners

ILLUSTRATION CRISTÓBAL SCHMAL

1

What do you keep celebrating all the time?

Mondays. ­Tuesdays. Every day. The weekend. Him. Her. Tourism. Berlin has no industry anymore to speak of, so we live off the legend 24/7: freedom, tolerance, love, adventure. It’s a piece of cake to sell and everyone wants to be a part of it, but it’s pretty hard work.

2

What on earth are you wearing?

It’s really hard to look like you don’t care about how you look! That’s why things get started later, people need time to get ready. High fashion has not caught on here despite Fashion Week, but many young designers from Berlin have gone on to conquer the world!

3

How many cities are there in Berlin?

Wait a sec, at least 96. That’s how many districts we have in Berlin. There’s Little Freiburg (Prenzlauer Berg), Little Istanbul (Wedding and Kreuzberg) and Little Cologne (the government district). More than 1.5 million people moved to Berlin after the Wall came down in 1989, we should be calling it New Berlin. There’s no real division between East and West anymore because no matter which direction you go, sooner or later, you end up in the East.

What do you mean, rude? We call it being authentic. We have no time for false courtesies here. Live and let live is our motto, so go ahead and speak your mind as well, but how about a little smart repartee! There’s no need to be so sensitive. Just because the bus driver made a joke at your expense doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you! He doesn’t even know you! And at least you were noticed. In Berlin, not complaining about a person is praise enough.

5

Are curry sausages giving way to Hawaiian poke bowls?

Fat chance! The trendier the cuisine, the longer the lines outside the famous Curry 36 shacks. Caution: The main exhibits at the Curry Sausage Museum in Mitte district are tourists – they just don’t know it.

GETTING THERE

Lufthansa operates a number of daily flights from Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) airports to Berlin (TXL). Use the app to calculate your miles. Download here:miles-and-more.com/app

Lorenz Maroldt

The editor of Der ­Tagespiegel writes a daily newsletter called Checkpoint, which even non-Berliners enjoy.